Sen. Carl Levin stopped by The Grand Rapids Press Thursday on his way to Holland, where President Barack Obama made a visit to a lithium-ion battery manufacturing plant operated by Johnson Controls.

The president's West Michigan visit gives him a chance to tout new federal fuel economy standards negotiated with auto makers. The aggressive standards would require manufacturers to hit an average of 54.5 miles per gallon for their vehicles by 2025. The Johnson Controls factory produces batteries for electric vehicles.

In the video, Levin, D-Detroit, discusses the fuel economy standards, which he supports, despite having opposed higher standards in the past because of the harm he believes they would have done to Detroit car companies. Also, Levin talks about the debt ceiling deal (he voted "yes") and the 12-member Super Committee, which includes two Michigan congressmen.

The committee will be charged with making more than $1.2 trillion in cuts to federal programs by mid-November. If the committee fails to reach a consensus, automatic cuts would go into place. Half those automatic cuts would come from defense spending, said Levin, chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The defense cuts would be devastating, and one of the reasons Levin believes Republicans and Democrats will want to make a deal. I'm asking Sen. Levin questions.